Maddie (2) thinks that I should spend allday every day putting on "lipstick" (actually lipbalm). I keep this in a bag with my Ventolin. Every time I obligingly put on my "lipstick" she reminds me, "That's your medicine, for when you stop bleeding."

I had to go home early last week with gastro. On the way out, Bella asked where I was going. I told her I was going home to vomit. She nodded wisely and said, "You have to vomit in your own bed."

Monday, 14 December 2009

At the moment, several of the blogs I regularly read have been mentioning the NCFIC "Sufficiency of Scripture Conference". Being out of the US means I can't even really consider going to a whole lot of these conferences, but I can (and often do) buy the audio afterward!

For those who weren't able to attend, you can purchase the audios here:http://ncfic.org/conferenceaudiopreorder

Monday, 7 December 2009

I've added a button. As many of you will know, I adore children, and adoption is an issue close to my heart. I recently learnt of this family who are aiming to adopt Hailee. Due to the changes in the policy of that country they need to get everything done as soon as they can, because at any point Hailee can be fostered out - in which case she is unlikely to survive.

Thursday, 26 November 2009

Actually, there's no reason to, other than I can. For once the boy isn't involved. But he's a boy, and it's all their fault. But back to the point...

I've started watching Korean dramas. I feel my life-blood being slowly sucked away, but oh! it is worth it!

I'm watching Full House, which is awesome.

I've decided I'm going to have the good looking guy. He won't get the girl at the end, so that's ok.

He looks even better when he wears glasses, but I can't find a picture. Sorry. Kal said, "He's good looking the rest of the time, but when he wears the glasses, it's like he suddenly aquires intelligence, character, and integrity." And hotness. Just my opinion there.

We started today reading the comments at the end of an episode. Very funny! People are swearing at the characters, saying how one of them 'is not my favourite' (inside joke) etc etc. Some choice (non-swearing) comments:

"*angry face* you can't protect﻿ her if you're by Hye Won's side dummy!""why is﻿ he so jerck heis the king of jercks""I think ji-eun's friend ain't really pregnant. It has been how many months and yet her stomach is still FLAT. how is that even possible?﻿"

"all haters hav to calm down. take a breath,﻿ just a drama." - Spoil sport.

Monday, 23 November 2009

My allergy tests show that I don't have a problem with gluten (guess who's gonna be gorging on pasta?)! I do have problems with:

- Dust mites- Artificial food colourings

That's it for now, but I need to be careful about what I eat, because I am "sensitive" (drs words) and might react to something that I wasn't tested for that I haven't had recently.

Dr said I could use more protein to build up muscles (he clearly hasn't seen my arms. If I build up any more I'll look like Creighton) and so I'm to start drinking soy occasionally. He recommends occasional meat, but I really can't stomach it. Gross. So soy it is.

So hopefully all will be good, and I can use my massive muscles to beat up on boys. Guess who's on my list? :P

Sunday, 22 November 2009

As I'm sharing the laptop with Kallie (who actually owns it) blogging may be even more sporadic than normal. But here's a general update on life in the mind of Sam.

- Now that I'm allergic to everything, there is nothing I can eat at church lunch. Seriously, the strawberries were the best bet in terms of producing the least bad alergic reaction. Sam didn't eat.- Drs appointment tomorrow. Will get full allergy results, will be changing my meds and will be forking out about $400.- The silkworms are eating us out of house and home. Doug Phillips said in one of his sermons (I think I'm linking to the right one) about hamsters being multi-generational thinking run amuk. Ha! I laugh at his hamsters. Two generations of silkworms in, and about a hundred offspring. Should only half of next years eggs hatch we will have about 500. And so far, only 5 caccoons have hatched.- To solve this problem, Kallie and I thought about getting the silkworms to turn cannibal. We proposed naming the survivor Joab.- Speaking of whom, the boy's grown a mo for Movember.- Surviving Ladybug is no longer surviving.- Sam had 2 panic attacks at church last week (15th Nov). The second of which had me screaming and running away from Auntie Wing. Word to the Wise - when I say, don't touch me, I've just had a panic attack, then that is not a good time to be giving me a hug.- Kien's pretty much completely gray.- I laugh at FC's idea of Hukka being frugal/stingy. Much in the same way I laughed about silkworms and hamsters.- I bought a blender. I now blend everything. I love it. Want a fruit smoothie anyone? Nectaries and strawberries are very nice and are available to anyone who doesn't meanly try and stop me from eating delicious foods that cause me to have hives- Hopefully will be able to start catching up with more people now that I don't have to use all of the weekend for recovering. Wesley people especially, because I don't get to see them at church.

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

Because I had such a wonderful weekend last weekend, I didn't exatly obey my dr about the no casein. Hey - my weekend began with us getting robbed. And then it went downhill.

So I ordered a four cheese pizza. I ate three slices.

I was SO SICK.

Woke up several times that night, and felt like vomitting for the next three days. I still have the residual flemmy cough. Yay, my favourite.

So, I won't be doing that again.

But I thought I'd let you all know the awesome news about my allergies and dairy avoidance.

Sam has the flattest stomach she has had... ever!

I'm not saying I wasn't skinny, because I was (and am). But my stomach would swell quite substantially after food, leaving me looking like I was several months along, especially with the rest of me being so tiny.

Now, my tummy is flat! Yay for flat tummies!

Also, I can exercise now. I actually made it through more of a exercise DVD than I could BEFORE I had pneumonia. Result: the crazy girl has exercised every day since Sat, except Tues, and that was a staff meeting night.

So, no dairy. None at all. But I'm less certain about abstaining from all those strawberries...

Sunday, 1 November 2009

The title says it all. I came home on Friday to notice my alarm clock was off. I thought, hmm, no power. Except the kettle was boiling. I looked down to the power cord, and noticed that it was looking more spartan than usual. I looked up, and noticed that my laptop was not where I normally put it. And neither was the case. Or the cord.

They also nicked my ipod cord, my camera ords, and tried to nick my camera, but they dropped it in the Rebel's room.

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

So, I went to the Drs on Thurs, officially for a blood test but in practise to tell the dr that he doesn't know what he's doing because I am still waking up far too much during the night unable to breathe. He listened to my prepared list of symptoms and then said, "You're sick."

Duh.

He sent me off to a specialist, which I saw on Mon. He rocked up 4 minutes late. Then he read the letter from my GP, and read that I have uncontrollable asthma. He looked up, and said, "I don't think so."

He asked a bunch of questions, and then said that I have 3 problems. I was not haapy to begin with. I mean, who wants 3 things instead of 1?

I have:

- Asthma- Nasal / sinus infection, which has lasted since having pneumonia 2 years ago. - Lots and LOTS of allergies

The sinus is the reason why I wake up. Because my nose is so completely blocked I literally stop breathing at night and wake up. The ventolin wasn't hugely helping because it wasn't fixing what the problem actually IS.

Turns out I'm also allergic to dairy. Not the lactose in dairy, but the casein. It causes me to go massively into overdrive with producing mucus. Which was the cause of the persistant cough, plus meant that the sinus got worse and worse.

I'm also allergic to "three or four other things, possibly more," and I've had a full blood allergy test to find out what they are.

I was then given new meds - milder ones for my asthma, and meds for my nose. Result - the two past nights I've had the best nights sleep in more than two years. Only woke up once each night.

On the dairy front, this means COMPLETE ABSTINANCE. I'm not even allowed to eat MARGARINE. Only Nuttelex. Just broke the rules for the first time (only a lemon meringue, I thought it'd be ok), and am regretting it. Muccusy and gross.

Friday, 23 October 2009

Last night, Kal and I decided the reason why we aren't attached to all proper degrees is because we are judgemental and mean. We decided that we need to stop being judgemental and mean in order to get ourselves some good looking boys with PR. Actually, I don't care about PR, but someone else does.

Then I went and was judgemental and mean in praying not to be judgemental and mean. Then I judgementally and meanly tore down a poster at the uni. It was judgemental and mean of me, but there is one less poster inviting Arts Students with nothing better to do to go to a rally for people who don't live the way God wants them to. Hmm, judgemental and mean to Art Students, and the communities of people who don't live the way God wants them to.

We were all good in CG. No judgementalness or meanness. It might be because we watched a DVD.

This morning however, we were judgemental and mean to:- 4 girls- 5 boys- Multiple assorted randoms we haven't met but who are siblings to those we have

In the 10 minutes I was up before Kal left the house. I'd post names, but that would be judgemental and mean of me. I will however point out Joab was one of them. He is our univeral whipping boy. Except that is judgemental and mean. So now we have to stop.

Hmm, this post is judgemental and mean. I think I have to start again...

Monday, 28 September 2009

They had me back in full time. I was not happy, and more to the point I was not coping. I not only was extremely exhausted (getting, 4, 5, and 5 hours of sleep for the nights previous to each day of work) but I felt really bad. I felt like I had a kid sitting on my chest all day (how they managed to do that while I was up and walking around), like I had weights in my shoes, and I had dizzy spells every hour or so.

Odele asked me how I felt. I told her I felt like I wanted to die. There were no awake kids in the room, otherwise I wouldn't have said it. Odele was horrified.

I am now working part time (9:30-4) in the babies room, same rate per hour, and even though I work for 2 1/2 hours less, I only get paid 1 1/2 hours less per day because before I had an unpaid lunch of 1 hour, and now I have a paid lunch of half an hour.

I have a job I may be applying for for next year, but I'm seeing how I like the babies room first.

Tuesday, 22 September 2009

My last day of part time work is today. They asked me to work full days Wed, Thurs and Fri of this week. Me, being a sucker, said yes.

Then, when I talked to management about officially switching to part time, they said that that would be fine, as long as I took a pay cut. Along with the fact that I would be working less hours. The end result is I would be earning half what I currently do working full time. For obvious reasons I can't do that.

Thursday, 17 September 2009

But I'm awake. I'm on a minor adrenaline rush which means I have about 20 minutes before I can even think about going to sleep. Which meant of course that I needed to eat stewed apples with custard. Sugar high along with adrenaline. My favourite!

I'm pretty stressed at the moment. It's taken me a while to work it out, because I don't get stressed the way normal people do. Instead, I declutter.

I gave Kallie a bookshelf about two days ago. My other shelves (I still have 10) are looking a little more spartan. I'd be getting rid of another one except the two smaller ones are a set so I can't get rid of one without the other. Besides, I don't know who to give them to. And I'd look a right loser carrying a bookshelf down to the op shop. Which doesn't mean I won't do it, it just means I'll think about it for 30 seconds before deciding that I have way too much stuff and I need to get rid of the stuff before the stuff is everywhere because the stuff is everywhere and I can't work with this much stuff or think with the much stuff and the stuff is all over the house so where can I work with all of my stuff and...

You get the point. When I declutter, stuff LEAVES.

On the other hand, if anyone is on the market for another bookshelf, I have some that may be soon available.

I figure I'm going to be decluttering for another day or two, and then I'll stop until next time. I'm hoping to finish going through my CDs. You've no idea how many annoying kids CDs I had. I don't have them any more. Work does. Yay for decluttering!

I have stuff set aside for lots of different people, mostly books. The Rebel has already inherited several million books. Kallie got the bookshelf, as I said earlier. I did offer one for Rebs, but she apparently wants one that dismantles, and I'm not giving up my 3 IKEA shelves. They MATCH. I NEED them. Because they MATCH.

Saturday, 5 September 2009

Thursday, 3 September 2009

Boydie (my youngest brother Robert) is continuing his school trip in China. He will be needing a little plastic surgery on his return but hopefully not the 5 to 10 day stay they were predicting.

From his email:

"Today at the doctors the news was good the wound is healing up like a scab now there might be a small scar but nothing much. I've got the bandage off finaly so I look normal apart from a massive bandaid on the left side."

Please be keeping him in prayer. He's a 14 year old boy - there is no end of ways he can damage himself further!

Sunday, 30 August 2009

My Mum and sis stopped by and we discussed all the family news that has happened since I saw them last. The main details:

- Apparently, my Mum's heart murmur (which my dr said mine was, rather than the same type as what my Dad's is) can cause lungs to fill with blood. I expect that that would be extra bad for someone who has asthma and lung damage. It is very bad when we are stressed. Apparently beeing told that my lungs could fill with blood should not be stressful.- My cousin Tyrone is a paraplegic after a car accident. His girlfriend died.- My brother John-Wayne decided to formally invite his girlfriend Paige into the family. No, they are not getting married. (They're both 18.) They did think that she was knocked up. Then they found out that she had ovarian cancer. She's been operated on, and she is fine. It apparently developed almost identically to mine from when I was ten, but because of the pregnancy scare got caught even earlier, so she only had one ovary taken out, and none of her womb.- My other brother Robert went to China. But leaving the country doesn't keep my family out of hospital! He had a tussle with the wardrobe. He lost. He is now missing a chunk of his face / side of his head, has had 6 stitches, and sees 3 specialists every few days. They will be deciding whether or not to evacuate him out sometime tomorrow, though it will probably be another day or two before he is likely to be in Australia. They are worried about flesh eating bugs.- My Dad doesn't want to celebrate Father's Day. I already bought him a present, so he's not getting out of things that easily.- My Mum is about to have kidney failure. This is genetic, and I'm not doing too well on the genetic front. I need to have these tested sometime soon.- Julie (my sis) is getting to breed chickens this semester.- One of my Aunt's had another baby. I don't remember which one. I expect it was Jill or Sally. Although if it is Sally she'll be up to 14 by now. Which I wouldn't have a problem with, except that there would be over 10 different fathers. At least with Jill's lot there are only 2.- The mafia have not yet killed Uncle John. I think someone's lost money on that one. Possibly my Mum.

On a serious note, I am the only Christian in my family, with the exception of the Matriarch of the Mess, my Nanny (in my family, Nanny is a grandmother, Granny is a great-grandmother). So please pray that they accept Christ as a result of... well all of the above.

Incidentally, I saw my Mum and sister last about 5 weeks ago. What can I say? We act fast.

I don't have much of a "love life". Okay, I have none at all. I make up for this by living vicariously through other people. Okay, through one starting-up couple. Some of you know who they are, and some don't so if you know, shut up, because they're shy!

The thing is, I tell people who don't know them - including people at work. Toddler Erin (i.e. the Erin who works in the toddler room and not in the kinder room) is very interested. She presses me for details, tells me to tell them to spend more time together, etc.

So Erin is living vicariously through my living vicariously.

And then Erin told me, "And my Mum said that they need to hurry up and become official already!"

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

I'm thinking about what I want to be doing next year. I thought I'd get everyone's comments, and posting here is easier than going to everyone seperately. If you want to talk to me rather than comment, fine, but this is easier for me.

As most of you know, I'm having some substantial problems at the moment with work, partially due to them and partially due to me being 3/4 asleep at any moment of time. So I'm seriously considering whether I should be continuing there. Here are the different things I'm considering:

- Continuing at my centre, but on reduced hours - probably 3 days a week. I'd use the other 2 days to rest, take harp lessons, rest, and learn a language (Hebrew being my top choice at the moment)

- Going back to uni, either full time (doing honors in Arts) or part time (probably getting Early Childhood qualifications, and continuing to work at my centre). I would be paid more for doing the Early Childhood, but I'm not particularly interested. If I do Arts, I'll be writing on Shakespeare and ballet.

- Working at a new centre

- Applying to teach in a sessional kinder

- Teaching in a school. Holidays, shorter hours, more pay. Sounds great! Within this there is several choices:1) Working in a Christian school2) Working at my old school3) Working in a government school4) Working in a semi-rural government school near my Dad's. Free rent, beach, and the lovely one of my parentals. The churches nearby leave a bit to be desired, though I've only been to 3 of the 7, so maybe another one is ok5) Working in a rural government school

- Travel. The nice thing about my job is that I can take time off and come back to a job any time, though obviously the leave would be without pay. There are some places I would like to go, and I have vague but specific plans in each that I have in mind. Here are the countries:1) Africa. Specific I know. Two countries in mind, but I'm not going to be more specific. Sorry2) Israel3) Scotland

So, why am I asking for opinions? Well, I do like to talk things over with others, but also - these choices will effect YOU! Think about not seeing ME for a month or however long while I am overseas! Tragical, I know. If nothing else, you will get to choose what you're going to hear me whinge about for the next year or so!

Saturday, 15 August 2009

n 1984 and 1986, Starr narrated the children's series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, a Britt Allcroft production, which was first shown on Central Television and subsequently across the ITV network. He was unsure about taking the role at first, having never previously read the books by Reverend Awdry, and at the time he felt that children would be more interested in "dinosaurs with lasers."

Interviewer: At the end of the song Elizabeth Reigns—which is a balanced view of the queen and company—you say, “Well, there goes me knighthood”. Starr: There goes me knighthood—yes, I think it has gone, well and truly... Interviewer: Does that bother you at all? Starr: No, I don’t want to be a Sir. I want to be a duke or a prince. If they come through with that, I’ll consider it.

Then we divided it into two sections. In my later doll I used a rubber band, but for this one we used tapestry thread.

Then we cut a hole in the middle of a small piece of satin, and put it on the doll like a petticoat. We stitched it on the doll.

Then we cut a hole in a piece of muslin and put it also on the doll, then stictched it in place. We added another piece of muslin, doing the same thing, and arranging the top piece so that all of the petticoat is covered before stitching this second piece into place.

We chose a hair-piece, and stitched it to the middle of the head. We only need to cover the front of the head, as there will be a head-piece covering the back of the head.

Sew the hair to both sides of the head.

Fold up a smaller piece of muslin, and arrange into a head-piece shape that you want. It might be like a peaked cloak, or like a bonnet, or however you want. This doll has a peaked cloak hat, my next doll has more like a bonnet (picture later).

Decorate the head-piece as you like. This doll has lace flowers with sequins in the centre. Pretty! Decorate the neck band, and any other parts you want.

Draw or stitch on the eyes and mouth. Steiner dolls have no nose, a straight line for the mouth, and small stitches for eyes. The point is that children can project any kind of emotion onto the doll that they want. In order to get the eyes etc in the right spot, use pins as markers and check to see that you like the expression.

That's it!

Here's the doll I made today. I used the scraps from the holes in the middle of the muslin and satin pieces to make the flower..

Today was pretty good, aside from health issues. I have an infection, which has made my nose swell quite interestingly. I never liked my nose, but now it's red and puffy. Plus more than slightly painful. I want my old nose back.

I went to a Martha Stewart scrabooking demo, and got nearly $100 in freebies. Freebies make Sam happy. I also bought a princess costume. There will be fairy-tale dress-up days at work at least once a year, and I want to be a princess. And I will be a princess at multi-cultural day and for general dress ups. SAM WILL BE A PRINCESS, AND ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE WILL BE KICKED.

Aside from that, I did some knitting. I finished my ball of plastic wool, and only finished one side of the bag I made. I also painted a tiny scrapbooking bookshelf (so cute!) and attempted to knit a head-scarf. Made 3 attempts, and the third one is the best. I'm not going to be wearing it any time soon.

While knitting, I listened to more Vision Forum CDs, and watched another 2 episodes of a Beatles doco. Song for today is below. Been singing it to the Rebel all day. I think she thinks I'm crazy.

Monday, 10 August 2009

- Sam is a now a cheap drunk. Alcohol mixes with my meds. I'd be sad, but I don't drink often, and mostly with Kallie.- Note to self: don't drink around boys.- Kal and I and Brenden and Rob got invited to a dinner with Ivan and Ida. What do you notice about all of us? That's right, we got the whiteness happening.- Kallie and I debated what their purpose was. Favourite ideas - killing us all off or picking our brains to evanaglise Aussies.- Actual reason - they're Bananas, and wanted to have dinner with people who don't think they're evil for bringing out a bottle of red.- You know what that means? Kallie and I got to have dinner with Mohawk Baby. He smooshed bolognase all over his face. He was SOOOO cute. And someone who carries babies around like they're hand-bags wasn't there. Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!- Sam is clearly very mature.- Vision Forum has changed their international postage costs. Happy. SO MUCH CHEAPER!- Sam is forbidden to show Stephen Vision Forum videos such as this.- This DVD and this DVD are however allowed.- Sam has the week off. She spent today listening to CDs like this. Just finished the CD on Martin Luther. Very interesting. Though I expect everyone else I know would be less interested.- Song of the evening.- Sam's ancestors were clearly about as mature as Sam

Saturday, 1 August 2009

Ingrid was about to belt one of the Isa's, so I picked her up and moved her. She ran back, and re-hit Isa, so I picked her up angain and held onto her.

She chucked a wobbly.

I have:

- Bitemarks on both legs (fading - not too bad)- A bitemark on my tummy (fading - not too bad)- Bitemarks on both arms, most of which have developed into bruises- Some hair missing- Vivid scratches on my face, particularly around my eyes, where Ingrid tried to claw my eyes outAND

- A bite on my thumb that required ice-pack, time not with the kids, and is probably infected. She not only broke the skin, but ripped it away, had the area around the bite turn purple, and resulted in me thinking many many swearwords.

Her mother came in early to pick her up because we phoned, but couldn't talk due to noise (she teaches too), and saw me and asked, "What happened to Sam's face?" Erin was like, "Your daughter happened."

Monday, 27 July 2009

Eli, one of my favourite chickadees, loves to draw. A few days ago, he wanted to draw me a picture. Of me and my family. He asked me lots of questions, and was very surprised that I wasn't married and didn't have any kids. I told him to draw me a picture of me with my husband and our children in a rose garden.

He asked me how many children I was planning on having.

I said 20.

He looked at me and said, "I can't fit that many in the picture."

I said, "That's all right, draw as many as you can, and draw me with a fat belly so it means I'll have more.

Bought two new Paul Simon CDs, so I'm expecting that they'll feature over the next few weeks. Planning to buy several Paul Simon DVDs when I have cash, and a Sons of Korah CD (can't listen to religious music at work, so they get less listening... sigh.) Must buy more Beatles albums!

- Mohawk Baby. Cutest baby ever (until I have mine at least. Or until Kal has hers... or...)- Haisun never comes over to our house while I am there, and if he has to, he will not enter any room I am in. He is "scared of" me. That's right, the 27 year old boyfriend of the Rebel is a WUSS. On the bright side, it means I don't have to see him.- I clearly have a high opinion of Haisun.- My opinion of the Rebel is about on par.- Deabte: who has more stomache fats? Kal or Sam? In the interest of full disclosure, I weigh 2 kg more.- Joab asks: "So Sam, when are you going to get married?" My answer: "When I find a boy stupid enough to ask me."- Joab then suggested that his friend be tortured until the day he dies. Shaun, if I were you I'd deck Joab while he sleeps for planning your painful demise.- Names of some of the chickadees: Isabella P who is best friends with Isabella B, Isabella called Bella who is best friends with Annabelle called Belle, and good friends with Ella. Ella-Bella is coming up to our grade too. There's Anna and Joanna, Jonno and Jonathan, George and George, and Lucy and Lucy and Lulu and Lucas. Friday is double trouble day, with two sets of identical twins - Sonia and Elise, and Jake and Mark. Or the same day, James and Marco come in, and like to play with Jake and Mark. Amongst the teachers there are two Erins. I am slightly confused.- I tried to let Eli know that people can be born anywhere in the world. Just 'cause your black doesn't automatically mean you were born in Africa. And just 'cause your Dad's white, doesn't mean he wasn't.- Having break-downs at work means that people are nice to you.- I know something you all don't know. Do-da, do-da. But seriously, I do. Unless you're a school friend, in which case, I told you already.

Because I am tired, but want to update, here's another meme. I stole it from Desperado, who stole it from someone else.

7 things you will find in your room:1. Books I'm reading at the moment2. CDs3. My bed4. Clothes I wore once but aren't dirty enough to be washed5. Children's clothes in boxes (under the bed)6. Soap made by kinder kids7. Meds

7 relationship questions (shh! *blush*)1. Do you like anyone? Probably.2. Does someone like you? Not that I know of.3. Last kiss? Two and a half years ago. Unless you count the chickadees, and then I got kissed today. Several times.4. Been lead on? Yup.5. Been cheated on? No. I would do serious damage to anyone who did6. Want a relationship? Yes.7. Want to get married? ASAP.

7 other things. Do you:1. Believe in God? Yes.2. Had a dream come true? Nope. I only have weirdo dreams, so if they come true, something is very, VERY wrong3. Read the newspaper? Most days at lunchtime.4. Get enough sleep everyday? No. I get about half what I need. Sam is permanently cranky5. Have a best friend? Will you be my best friend?6. Take a bath daily? I have showers7. Wish on stars? No. I am usually trying to sleep when the stars are out.

7 have you evers. Have you ever:1. Fallen in love? Not really.2. Kissed someone of the same sex? No. Unless you count chickadees. And then yes. Today.3. Hooked up with someone who was already attached? No.4. Been to a bonfire? Yes.5. Ran away from home? Yes.6. Played strip poker? No.7. Pulled an all nighter? Yes, but from missing a train home. It's a long story, that ended in trauma. I had no sleep for more than 40 hours!

7 things in the last 24 hours. Have you:1. Cried? Yes. About 4 times2. Had fun? Yes.3. Been kissed? By chickadees. Man, I need to be kissed by someone over the age of six.4. Felt stupid? Yes.5. Talked to an ex? No. But I bet my Mum has talked to my ex for me.6. Missed someone? Yes.7. Listened to music? Yes.

7 things on your mind:1. Whether or not to go to work tomorrow2. What book to read next3. Tea (the drink)4. Whether the chest pain at the moment is my heart or my lungs5. I think it's my lungs6. Coughing is sucky.7. The neighbours car alarm. Must kill.

7 things you can't live without (metaphorically speaking, other than God):1. Books2. Simon and Garfunkel3. The Beatles4. The internet5. Gossipping with Kal6. Teasing people, esp Joab and Adam7. Chocolate

Thursday, 9 July 2009

You go to have a shower, get half undressed and think, "I'm too tired to have a shower; I'd rather go to bed." So you start to get into your PJs, only to remember that the reason why you're having a shower is so you DON'T go to bed BECAUSE IT ISN'T 8PM yet.

Blogging will resume when I want to have a shower for more reasons other than keeping me up past 8.

Monday, 29 June 2009

I was reading an article on Little Women, and someone made this awesome comment:

"I made the grave mistake of seeing the movie (hey, I was ten!) before reading the book. Now, the theater of my overactive book-illustrating imagination is always in a tither over why that shoplifting woman broke up with Batman. Sigh."

I went to the S&G concert on Thursday. Honestly, it was one of best nights of my life so far. It was fantastic!

I had spent so much money on tickets that I went in there thinking, "I better come out bathed in their spit." Well, my seat wasn't that close, but it was close. Right in the middle too. Probably the best row to be in out of the whole house.

It was interesting hearing about how they met, and about some of the stories behind their songs (like The Only Living Boy In New York). They played the usual hits, which didn't include many of my absolute favourites (I like the most obscure song on each album the best, just to be difficult).

They met when they were 11, in 6th grade. They were in the same production of Alice in Wonderland. Garfunkel was the Cheshire Cat, which he said, "I like to think of it as the Second Lead" and Paul Simon was the White Rabbit. Garfunkel said, "I followed the White Rabbit down the Rabbit Hole and I've been following him ever since."

Paul Simon said of the exerience, "If anyone had told me, when I was 11, that this other kid you just met and you were going to write songs together that would be famous, and people would still be listening to you, all over the world, including in Melbourne, Australia (requist cheer from the crowd) for more than 50 years, I would of been, like, SO? Because that's how you are when you're eleven."

They missed out on the drum beat in The Boxer, which was a real pity. (I can't find a version with the drum beats - so buy their CDs!) Adam described the missing drumbeat in his usual graphic language, as hitting you somewhere it would really hurt for a guy. It's an awesome song, but the missing drums was indeed very sad.

Fridays performance. I had way better seats than this poor person.

I've added about 7 CDs to my amazon cart (a variety of their post-break-up CDs) plus bought another S&G at JBs, and also an Everly Brothers CD, because they "completely inspired" S&G. Apparently they also inspired the Beatles, so I was completely sold. They sang Bye Bye Love, All I Have To Do Is Dream, and Wake Up Little Susie.

They've moved on to where-ever they are going next, so all you Melbournites have missed out, because they're going to DIE before they get back together again. And they certainly aint coming back to Oz. You missed out. I'd be sad for you, but I'm too busy listening to my S&G CDs to think about anything except the music.

Thursday, 25 June 2009

My results were in yesterday, but I've also been sick (killer cold of doom) that I'm only just posting about it now.

I have a flow murmur, which is the minor one. I am also slightly low on iron, and the doctor thinks that the combination of the heart, the lungs and the low iron levels are causing my inability to breathe, especially at night.

Thank you to all the people who have been supporting me and praying for me during this stressful time!

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Saturday, 13 June 2009

My friend Hoang in Australia, and he's doing a few performances. This guy is AWESOME on the piano. Seriously, he makes Ian Song look like he's playing with bananas as fingers. He's won about a bazillion prizes etc. National prizes, that is.

He's performing on Sat 11th of June, at 7:30PM.Tickets are $25 for adult, $15 for students. These are A-Reserve seats, and are only available through me (well, through Hoang really).

Thursday, 11 June 2009

Certain people are now on the prowl. No, not me. Some people are busy looking for a man FOR ME. So, Kal etc, here is my updated criteria list:

Non-negotiable- Christian, and more spiritually mature than I am (not hard)- Wants LOTS of children (preferably Quiverful)- Not able to be bossed about by me; he has to wear the pants- Wants to adopt internationally and / or foster children- Willing to homeschool

Pretty Important:- Tall and not-a-stick- Can eat a WHOLE LOT of my cooking- Can sing mostly in tune- Employed / Employable. Student = okay, as long as he's not taking 10 years to get an arts degree- Between ages of 23 and 30

Would Be Nice- Loves to read- Funny- Awesome personality (to quote Kal - "personality is important. It's what's going to keep you from killing them, and me from killing myself.")- From Hope and NOT FRANKSTON CENTRE- Able to dance and will dance with me to random music- Supplies me with the essentials - chocolate and tea

My Mum wants me to move to Portarlington. She's really keen on it. On the way up she kept on pointing out things she thought I would like. Why she did this I don't know, as I was 3/4 asleep and 1/4 grumpy due to intense lack of sleep.

It got worse.

She then started out pointing out all the different churches. "There's even a bunch of your loopy 'born-again' types here Samantha. You could go to that church". That's how I knew Mum was very serious. She thinks born-agains are a CULT. They do cult-like things like read the Bible, and go to church, and pray, and cult-like things like that.

It then got funny.

She started to go on about the virtues of the boys. "Lovely Celtic boys. They'll look good in a kilt and they'll go dancing with you." (Scottish dancing that is.)

I raised my eyebrows. It got better.

"They're lovely Celtic boys. Farmers and agrian boys. The type who'll give you a massive bunch of children, will beat you around a bit, and then go to church on Sunday." She paused, and then said, "That is what you need in a man."

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

I started getting an allergic reaction at the third lot of strawberries. So I went to a singing workshop. When it was over, I checked in the mirror - swollen lips, no hives. Time for more strawberries!

Friday, 5 June 2009

My whole family is going, 'cause my Dad lives in Portarlington. Apparently the whole place books out months before hand.

So I'm going to be doing a whole lot of Scottish, Irish, andd probably some Brettony dancing, listen to a whole lot of music, poetry, and maybe even start learning Gaelic (on my list of languages to learn - my Mum speaks Gaelic (Scotish version) the way I speak German - mostly forgotten). I won't learn to play the Bagpipes - thats for BOYS!

So if you have a birthdy present for me, don't bring it to church this week, but save it for next week. I won't be at Touching Heaven, so don't bring it then either. Next Sunday.

And if you don't yet have a present for me, this gives you an extra week to buy me one. And just so as you know, you're competing with the Beatles and a breadmaker. ;p

Thursday, 4 June 2009

He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named is a boy Kal and I know, who may read this blog. Indeed, much of this blog may be dedicated to teasing him. What he doesn't know, is that our (Kal's and mine) conversations are in fact far, far worse. He doesn't even know where he stands on the Haison scale. In fact, he doesn't know what the Haison scale is! And he got three seperate analyses from me alone!

The thing is, every time Kal mentions He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, something BAD happens to her. I appear to have immunity from this disease, but BAD stuff happens to Kal.

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

In honor of my 25th birthday (yesterday - 1st of June) here are 25 little known facts about me.

1. My chest voice and my head voice sound like two completely different people. Both sing nicely, but they sound very different.2. I find it disturbing when the atomically correct dolls in the home corner are not wearing clothes. Non-atomically correct dolls can go naked for all I care.3. My grandfather has the same birthday as me. It wasn't a nice present, he was dead.4. I can drink straight lemon juice and find it tasty.5. My favourite style of painting is probably impressionism.6. I didn't ALWAYS want 2 kids. Once I only wanted between 4 and 6. But the longer I remain single, the higher the numbers go. What can I say? I like a challenge.7. I almost never order tea when I'm eating out - I can't justify the money for a tea-bag and some water.8. I worte 6 novels in high school. They are never leaving my computer.9. As a teenager I was worried about the size of my thighs. Now that I'm an adult, I worry about my stomache and my high-byes as well.10. I topped one subject at uni. Renaissance Literature11. I spent all my prize money on one book. I read the book once, and before I bought it. It's a glorious book though.12. If I ever do honours, I'll write on how Shakespeare is interpreted into ballet.13. Once I gave up black tea for a whole year. I staarted drinking it again when I did my teaching rounds, and there was no green tea in the staff room.14. My favourite movie is The Princess Bride. "As you wish" has to be one of the most romantic lines ever.15. Our TV doesn't work. Mostly I don't miss it - we just use it to watch DVDs.16. The dairy product I like least is milk.17. The only allergy food I willingly consume is strawberries. That's because strawberries are delicious.18. My favourite sandwich is light rye sourdough with cream cheese and cucumber.19. I lived for a year on little more than homemade soup and free bread.20. I have sang at an audience for the Pope, and for the crown prince of Thailand. I found both these occasions boring.21. I wear make-up almost every day. If you can't tell I have eye-lashes, it's a day off.22. I have this week half off work. I seem to be doing more than I normally do, and consequently, I'm already wrecked.23. The opera that I loved the one time I saw it was The Flying Dutchman, by Wagner (I think).24. I am able to kill almost every plant I come into contact with.25. My nic-names include Sammyantha, Samuri, and Sammy-Sammy, and Hammy.

Sunday, 31 May 2009

In recent times, Kallie has been the recipricant of love advice from three very strange individuals. I thought I'd record it for prosterity.

From Rebel, the church leader (who actually has a boyfriend)- Hang around him and MAKE SURE he notices you.- Don't talk to leadership - they will wreck everything.

From Joab, the spiritually mature (single) boy:- Kal, you should get a boyfriend. One who will treat you like a child and keep you warm.- You need to say to boys in your care group "I'm going to raise you up so you can be my boyfriend."

From Sam, the spiritually immature, non-JG, single girl:- DON'T TELL REBECCA ANYTHING.- Find something you have in common.

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

So what cakes do you guys want to eat for the Sunday before the day of doom?Any suggestions?Any suggestions of spongecake, especially from spongecake eaters, will be ignored.

My suggestions:- Chocolate cake- Merigues- Something with lots of delicious strawberries that mean spongcake eaters won't be able to take away from me because it shall be a day of loveliness and doom- Banana cake- Choc-chili cake

Your turn!

Suggestions I like will be made, and brought to church for you to enjoy. Steph and other Wesley friends, you can make sugggestions, and either come to church and eat cake or I'll re-make some other time.

Friday, 15 May 2009

- Joab and Shaun outed themselves as Real Boys. You don't want to know. Let's just say I know WAAAAY more about their weddings than I want to.- The Singaporean National Anthem sucks. Sorry, but it does.- We found a game Kallie can win for CG.- We plan to poison the Rebel.- Desperado needs to change the smoke alarm battery. Come on - he's home all day, he might as well make himself useful.- We're going to have an English high tea. Freedy asked if he should bring cake, and I glared at him. He is trying to STEAL my role of cooking from me.- Borz, from work, has finally worked out what I look like. Apparently, I look Amish.- Today I am wearing the awesome Scottish skirt again as it is International Families Day. Everyone has told me that I look 'cute' including several of the kids. I suppose it doesn't help that I put my hair in two plaits. I am revelling in it. Soon I shall be OLD.

Sunday, 10 May 2009

Now that I have a kitchen to cook innmeans I'm kind of going overboard with the whole cooking thing. Overrboard meaning that Kal and I are going to be extremely fat by... next week. Overboard as in I cooked multiple items on Saturday.- Raspberry Sorbet- Oat banana bread- Carrot/Zuchinni muffins (renamed 'vegetarian cupcakes' by Joab)- Chocolate carrot cakeOf course, if Kal and I eat all that, we'd be fat. And we're both pretty slender - for now.

So what to do? Church picnic lunch to the rescue!

We took everything except the oat loaf (we had several oat rolls, which we took) and the sorbet, which isn't exactly known for easy travel. We also took some of Kal's cooking and some toffees I had cooked earlier in the week.

Most people liked the food. Denise has requested more toffees for her birthday next week, and Ian really enjoyed the carrot cake. Joab alone was sceptical. He wouldn't even try most of the food. What he tried he didn't like. He then insulted my cooking for a second week in a row. I told Shaun to hit him. Shaun obliged. Shaun, you're awesome.

Monday, 4 May 2009

So, I went home after church and cooked. Because that's my current obsession. And I like to be, well, obsessed with my obsessions.

So I made ice-cream. It tastes good... but wasn't quite what I wanted.I made soup. It tastes good... and Kal loves the brothy soups... but I wasn't happy.So I decided to make bread. Because clearly the best idea is to make food you've never made before in an oven you've never used before in a cold kitchen when your cooking isn't exactly going to plan.

About Me

I'm 28 years old, I'm a born-again Christian, and currently work as a childcare worker.
I'm a Pentacostal, meaning I believe in the active power of the Holy Spirit in the world; and I'm a Quiverfull Christian, meaning that I believe that children are a blessing from God - and why would you want to limit blessings?
I'm interested in a whole lot of things, including drawing, knitting, and reading (which I do a lot of!).